


Even Ancient Warriors Can Like Hot Chocolate

by caspie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Coffee Shops, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2017-11-29 02:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/681898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caspie/pseuds/caspie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sitting in a coffee shop doing research is not Dean's favorite activity, but somebody's got to do it. When a certain angel shows up bearing gifts, Dean begins to realize some of his true feelings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The free wifi always brought Dean back to coffee shops. He'd really prefer a diner, but you don't get a whole lot of free internet in a good old fashion diner. So, he picked the research over the burger and did his job, no matter how much he'd rather pick the burger. So as Dean sat and typed by the window, he picked up his coffee, black, manly as you can get in a Starbucks. As he put the paper cup to his mouth, he glanced up and out the window.

The last time Dean really remembered being in a coffee shop was that place in Oregon with the levis. Nice small town with a couple of big bads and lots of cursed items. He shook his head, he really hadn't wanted to put those ballet shoes on, at all. Dean watched for a moment as people walked by. It had been snowing, just light flurries, when he walked into the Starbucks, but now it was snowing heavier. The snow was big wet flakes, now. He frowned and swallowed the hot, bitter coffee, missing the burn of whiskey from a flask, but he was laying off the alcohol, especially while at normal coffee shops.

The snow was drifting, piling up against the poles, but just melting away where people walked. When the wind picked up, Dean could see the shadows in the snow and they looked like dark feathers. Oddly familiar dark feathers. He scrunched his eyebrows together and frowned. Couldn't be. He hadn't seen Cas in a few weeks. Not since that weird Acme job they worked. It was just delusions again, flashes of what he wanted. He turned back to the laptop and kept scrolling through old newspapers, looking for the answer to the current monster of the week. He kept sipping at the coffee, waiting for Sam to call with any new info.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean turned around, surprise and confusion on his face.

"Where the hell have you been, Cas? You just show up, work a couple cases, and disappear again? What the hell man?"

"I had other business to attend to. Wrongs to make right. But I brought a peace offering."

Dean took a second to really take Cas in. His trench coat was dark in patches, like snow had been melting, and some of the snowflakes were caught in his hair, big, solid, wet snowflakes. His tie was all disheveled and backwards again. And in his hands, Cas had the exact right thing to win Dean over. Dangling before Dean was a bag that clearly held classic bacon cheeseburgers and some hand-cut fries.

"Cas, right now, do you know how much I love you?"

Cas blushed and dropped the bag on the counter next to Dean's coffee. Dean could smell the burgers and all he wanted was to reach in and pull one out or grab a fry to swipe through some ketchup. But, he didn't. He was busy watching Cas. Watching Cas run a hand through his hair, an oddly human gesture, and shake away the melting snow. Watching the heat recede from his ears and then his face. Watching the way Cas' nose was red from the cold. It had been a long couple weeks, since Dean had seen Cas. Too damn long.

"Sorry, Cas. I know you've got other shit to do. It's just, we could use the help. Hunting down the big mouths is hard without you. We need you for the hunt..

"I need you. I need you watching my back... Standing beside me. I need you here. Just ask for help next time, instead of running off without me."

Cas nodded his head to indicate he got it. Dean knew that Cas seemed more human since he got back from Purgatory, but he ignored it. Cas would tell him if something were wrong and if something really were wrong, he would notice it, he knew Cas better than anyone. As he gave Cas another once over, he took another swig of his coffee, getting nothing but bitter dregs. Cas' mouthed quirked up on one side when Dean frowned at his cup.

"I can get you another coffee."

Something in Cas' eyes was fond and possessive. He didn't ask what Dean wanted, he just turned and walked away. The turn was stiff, straight, just like Cas' posture, remnants of the soldier that Cas had been throughout history. Dean admired the purposeful stride and shook his head at the pity that was the over-sized trench coat. Mid shake, Dean stopped and realized he'd been wishing for a view of Cas' ass. He could feel his brow all bunched and his lips pursed, as Cas turned to look back a question on his face. Immediately Dean un-knit his brow and gave Cas a how-you-doin face, complete with raised eyebrows and smirk, he half meant it as a joke, which meant he half meant it seriously. When Cas turned back to the cashier, Dean shook his head and turned around. He had no idea what he was doing, checking out his best friend, his bestangel friend.

As Dean bit into the burger Cas had brought, he closed his eyes. God, this burger was good. Smoky bacon. Melty cheese. Juicy burger. He sighed out his enjoyment as he chewed and when he opened his eyes, he started back. Cas was standing there staring. Staring right through Dean, like he could see the pleasure of the burger in Dean's soul. It was a bit unnerving, but it was just so Cas. The way Cas smiled, Dean could see the quirked-up corner of his mouth and a light in his eyes. It was really nice to see Cas smile.

"You gonna stand there and stare all day or you gonna sit down and join me? Damn good burgers."

Cas put down Dean's new coffee, black like he wanted, and then put down a second cup. He slid into the tall chair beside Dean and picked up his coffee, but when Dean watched him pull the cap off, it wasn't real coffee. Cas had some frothy, foamy, yuppie crap. In fact, that looked like whipped cream on top, mirroring the snow drifts outside. Dean took another bite of burger and watched Cas drink his "coffee." Somehow, the sweet topping seemed really appealing as it approached Cas' mouth. And when Cas paused to lick a bit of whipped cream off the side before drinking, Dean couldn't help but stare.

"You gonna drink your girly drink or you gonna lap it like a cat with cream? For an ancient warrior, you certainly like desserts."

"Angels don't need to eat or drink... I didn't need to eat or drink, but I find certain things pleasurable. Burgers and hot chocolate with whipped cream are both things that make me very happy."

He smiled his big at that. A real smile, not a smirk, not a knowing little smile. This smile showed his teeth and made his eyes crinkle up and Dean could see a little bit of whipped cream above Cas' top lip. It looked really tempting. Dean flicked his eyes around the Starbucks, checking that nobody was watching.

"Man, it's not even coffee? You're drinking hot chocolate with whipped cream? Angel can drink an entire liquor store and fight wars, but picks hot chocolate to drink, awesome."

The awesome was a bit sarcastic, but a bit impressed and completely irrelevant as Dean reached his hand out. Cas watched Dean's hand move and tilted his head, showing he didn't understand. As Dean's fingers wiped the whipped cream from Cas' mouth and pulled away. Cas' smile faded behind a blush that showed how confused and embarrassed he was. Dean licked the sweet cream from his fingers and watched the blush grow deeper on Cas' face.

"Maybe hot chocolate isn't so bad. Hot chocolate with whipped cream while watching the snow pile up makes me pretty happy too."

And Dean laughed. He didn't know why this made him so happy. Didn't know why he had just licked the whipped cream that came from Cas' mouth. Didn't know why he wished he had licked it straight from his best friends mouth. But right now, he just knew that Cas was back by his side, he had a burger, and it was snowing, it was a damn fine day.

He pushed the laptop back a bit and pulled the burger closer to him, and leaning both elbows on the table, Dean kept eating his burger and smiling. He turned his head to watch Cas continue enjoying his hot chocolate, cautiously keeping the whipped cream from his face. And when "Carry On My Wayward Sons" rang from his pocket, Dean flicked the phone open to hear Sammy saying he was on his way to the coffee shop. Maybe Starbucks wasn't so bad.


	2. Angels and Clouds Go Together Just Like Cocoa and Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some fluffy stuff ending in hot cocoa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, this story involves Dean NEVER kicking Cas out and I just am not okay with that. Enjoy the cuteness.
> 
> Also, this is totally for Swlfangirl

It had been a while since Castiel had moved into the bunker. Dean thought it was nice to have the other man around, though thinking of him as a man and not an angel was often difficult. At first, he hadn’t known what to do.

The basics were easy. Castiel got his own room by Dean’s. Three plates for dinner instead of two. Extra razors, body wash, and shampoo at the store. Easy.

But some parts were harder. Dean wasn’t sure how to make Cas feel at home. He wasn’t even sure that he knew how to feel at home.

He took Cas mattress shopping. It was pretty fun. They hit up one of those superstores so they could maybe find some other furnishings that Cas would like. Dean would leap onto beds and bounce into place while his angel looked on.

“Dean! They are going to throw us out if you insist on jumping on every bed.”

“Cas, man, nobody cares. And, how do you know if it is a good mattress without some jumping and bouncing action?”

He laughed, his eyes crinkled up, and motioned for Cas to try out the bed. Cas stood and stared at him, consternation clear in his bunched brows and slight frown.

“Seriously, you have to lay on it. Bad bed means bad back. How are we supposed to deal with the angels falling if you wreck your back on a shitty mattress? Get down here.”

Eventually Cas had nodded and sat on the edge before laying down.

They had gone clothing shopping. That was better. Dean’s pants had been too long to be reasonable and his shirts didn’t really scream “Castiel.” Cas had seemed reluctant to change his wardrobe, but without his angel powers, the clothes were not looking very good or smelling very good.

At the store, Dean had picked out jeans and henleys and t-shirts. He also grabbed a couple suits for Cas to try on. Castiel had picked a jacket and some khakis.

“What is the point of spending four hours putting on different clothes, Dean? As long as they don’t fall off, I don’t see how it matters what I wear.”

“You can’t look like a hobo all the time. Plus, isn’t it nice to buy clothes for Castiel, instead of wearing Jimmy’s one outfit for five years? Come to think of it… That is really nasty. Dude. Even if you get your mojo back, you need to have more than one outfit.”

Cas’ sigh was probably audible outside the fitting room, but he complied and they left with an impressive pile of clothes.

In the bunker, some things were more difficult. Cas didn’t really understand deodorant and shampoo and soap scents. So, he didn’t have a preference and Dean didn’t know how to pick out the right thing for Cas. It also made him feel like he was the housewife, which was a bit weird. But, he’d been shopping for Sam since Sam started needing deodorant, so he could figure it out for Cas too. He eventually chose Old Spice for the soap and deodorant. The shampoo was more difficult.

At first, Dean bought a floral scent. But, it was weird. He could smell Cas across the table. So, that didn’t happen again. Next was unscented. That was terrible. The lack of smell was somehow wrong.

Eventually, he found a honey and cream shampoo. That was perfect. It was soft and clean and sweet. Most of all, it meant Dean no longer spent 20 minutes staring at the endless shampoo selection in the store.

But, the hardest part was figuring out what Cas liked to eat. Some of Jimmy’s preferences lingered; Cas said it was that the vessel had preferences built in or something. So, steak and burgers were a good choice, thankfully, because if Cas had decided to go vegetarian or something, Dean might have thrown him out.

It was a good find when it turned out that Cas liked PB&J. That took care of lunches.

Dean would watch as Cas tried different things and judge the reaction. It didn’t seem like coffee was Cas’ favorite. It was pretty neutral as far as reactions went. But, Dean noticed that Cas always chose a hot drink with breakfast, he just needed to find a drink Cas really liked.

The last time he went shopping, he was looking for new things to try as he meandered up and down the aisles. He was only half paying attention when he remembered. Years ago, in that Starbucks, Cas had said he likes hot chocolate. It was a little thing, but Dean was learning that home is made of the little things. So, he grabbed a tub of Swiss Miss to try the next morning.

_____________________________________________

It really had been a while since Cas had moved into the bunker. But, today, Dean was pretty sure he had found the thing that would turn the bunker into home. For Dean, home had meant the new mattress and making chicken soup like his mom did. For Sammy, well he didn’t seem to be at home in the bunker and Dean was still trying to work out what to do about that. For Cas, home had always been Heaven and while Dean couldn’t make Heaven, he could make a new human home.

He brought out two omelets filled with ham and cheese and spinach, one of Cas’ favorite breakfasts.

“Thank you, Dean. It looks excellent. I am constantly impressed at your cooking.”

Castiel was starting to smile more. His eyes crinkled up and he had dimples. It was a good sight and always made Dean smile in return.

“I’ve got skills. Plus, I ate in all those diners my entire life, I better know how to make good food. Gonna go grab the coffees, be right back.”

He left the room for the kitchen. First, he poured his coffee into his favorite mug. He would never tell anyone where he got it, but his baby looked so good on it, even if he had had to buy it from a Supernatural fan. Then, he poured the hot water over the Swiss Miss. He added some milk to make it creamy and cool it off a bit. And then, he added the perfect secret ingredient. Cas had said he liked whipped cream, but Dean had a favorite from when he was a kid and got left with a babysitter up in MA.

“Here you go Cas.” Anyone listening could have heard the smile in his voice. His eyes were shining and his smile was radiant. Dean knew that he had made a home for his angel and nothing had ever made him happier.

“Dean, this does not look or smell like coffee.” The ex-angel was looking at Dean with a soft laugh, like Dean might actually not know the mug wasn’t filled with coffee. “There appear to be white lumps floating in it and it smells sweet, like chocolate.”

“Dude, just try it. I promise you’ll like it.” Dean picked up his fork and started cutting off a piece of his omelet, as he watched Cas take his first sip of cocoa.

Sluuuurrrrrrp.

“Mmmm… You are right. This is delicious. But, why did you make hot chocolate? And what did you put in it? I’ve seen marshmallows before, but these are definitely not marshmallows.”

There was a dab of white stuck to Cas’ nose and Dean started laughing, before reaching over to wipe it off.

“You have a little- just here- there got it. Anyway, I remembered you saying you like hot chocolate with whipped cream and burgers. Well, I already make burgers, but I didn’t have hot cocoa. And, dad used to leave Sammy and me with this family in Mass. They have this stuff called Fluff. It’s impossible to find outside of New England though. But, it was my favorite. So, I thought I’d give you something from my childhood.”

Castiel’s eyes sparkled and his lips curved softly. He looked down at the cup. He was silent for a few moments, before he finally took another sip of the drink. He licked some of the melty fluff off his lip and smiled.

“Thank you Dean. I am glad you shared.”

Dean couldn’t help noticing that Cas’ eyes looked a little wet. But, the other man put his mug down and started in on his omelet.

‘Yeah, I definitely got it right,’ Dean thought to himself.

“Uh, Cas?”

“Hmm?”

“Welcome home.”


End file.
